"Rahul Gandhi Misinterpreted RSS Like Many In The West": Renowned Scholar

Known for closely studying the RSS for nearly five decades, Walter K Andersen has authored books such as 'Brotherhood in Saffron.'

Renowned scholar Walter K Andersen, known for his authoritative scholarship on contemporary Indian politics, has said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has misinterpreted the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a religious organisation like "many in the West and also in India". That approach, he said, may not help Mr Gandhi in his efforts to present himself as a Hindu and a nationalist.

Known for closely studying the RSS for nearly five decades, Mr Andersen, former head of South Asia studies at the school of advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University, has authored books such as 'Brotherhood in Saffron.' He spoke about the perception of the RSS in the West, the challenges it faces such as dealing with the issue of caste discrimination, reaching out to minorities and gaining acceptance among the intellectual elite, and the future of the BJP as he sees it.

How do you see the growth of the RSS in the last 10 years? Do you see the BJP and RSS complementing each other now, or are there areas of differences?

I think they complement each other. They are not rivals. To understand the RSS and its relationship to the political system, it is important to understand the work each of its affiliates does. And there are dozens of them, and they approach every part of Indian society. For example, the ABVP is for students, BMS is for labourers, BJP is for politics and so on. So when people say the RSS is involved with the BJP, it is actually the affiliate organisation that is involved, and they are not necessarily involved in politics, but have ideas and want to get things done in their favour. For example, take the education system here that has been frozen for many years. They have been thinking about re-orienting it. But they have to approach the government for that. And it is not easy as the Indian government is pervasive, be it health or education, there are multiple regulations to follow and clearances that are needed. So one has to be careful how to go about it, and approach people in the government who can do it. Now that sounds like lobbying. Having worked in Washington, we have a similar system. Embassies and companies -- and even universities -- have lobbyists who can manoeuvre the system. The same is true here.